Greetings from Germany

(written on September 17, 2008)

Guten Tag! (Good day!)

As you can probably tell, I made it to Germany safely! Traveling here was stressful with heavy bags, nearly missing my connecting flights, figuring out the train system in a foreign language, and having delayed baggage. But, I'm here, and God has been blessing me very much!

We are in week two of our photography classes. I am learning so much about photography and have been easily able to grasp some complex concepts, praise God! We have all been blessed in our new friendships and to have a staff that really cares about discipling and not simply teaching photography. In October, we will switch from having daily photography classes to only having one or two afternoon sessions in a week. Also at this time, 40 other students will be arriving from around the world, and we will begin Bible and missions classes. Our property is a 20-minute walk through the woods from the small town of Herrnhut. Did I mention it is gorgeous here?...especially for an Arizonan!

Our typical weekly schedule looks like this:

7:00-7:30 a.m. -- Breakfast
8:00-9:00 a.m. -- Worship/Devotional
9:00-11:00 a.m. -- Class
11:00-11:30 a.m. -- Coffee/Tea/Fruit break
11:30-1:00 p.m. -- Class
1:00-2:00 p.m. -- Lunch
2:00-4:00 p.m. -- Work Duty (I work in the kitchen. Yes, mom, I do dishes, if you can believe that. And, yes, I chose this work duty over others.)
4:00-6:00 p.m. -- Class, Field Time, or Free Time (depends)
6:00-7:00 p.m. -- Dinner
7:00-9:00 p.m. -- Free Time or Planned Group Activity


Last week we found out that our outreach/missions phase will be looking entirely different from what we thought. The photography students will NOT be joining the other students for outreach. Instead we will be going to one of two locations: Ethiopia or a country in Asia TBD. We will be working for a new organization called Pickapocket (check out their website:http://web.mac.com/eliminationart/Site/Home.html). As photojournalists, we will be doing "research" for this organization by each getting to know the story and life of one or two people in the community. We will spend the majority of time in relationship with them as we record their story and photograph them. As we put a face on poverty, we will also be sharing the Gospel and spreading the love of Jesus! I will keep you updated on where and when I will be heading out. I am SO excited for this incredible opportunity! This is so much greater than I ever could have imagined, and I am so full of praise to the Lord for this opportunity!

How you can be praying for me:

1. Health. I'm sick, and several other students and staff are sick as well.
2. Weather. It's COLD!!! The base cannot afford to turn the heaters on yet, and it's been between 30-50 F. Pray for funds to come into the base or for warmer weather.
3. Unity. Pray for growing unity among students and staff. We have been very blessed with this so far as everyone is getting along great, and the staff is wonderful! This will be all the more important as we determine who will be going to which outreach locations, and we will be called to work together as a team.
4. Discipleship. Pray that God continues to take us deeper and that we lay ourselves down daily for Him.
5. Excellence. Pray that, as artists, we become excellent in our art for God's glory, that we will be disciplined in our learning and in our desire to use our gifts for His sake.
6. Support. Please continue to pray for more support money to come in for me and the other students. Many of us have only raised the money needed for the schooling and not yet for the outreach phase.

Thank you all for your support and prayers! I could not be here without you, and I know God will reward you for your kindness. I would love to hear from you, as well, so feel free to e-mail me at any time (LaDanseur719@hotmail.com).

For HIS glory,
Mindy Pellum